Adjustable forming and cutting die structure



July 19, 1955 A. R. STAHL.

ADJUSTABLE FORMING AND CUTTING DIE STRUCTURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Jan. 5, 1952 e e 22 I' 1 1 m g Al I at m 4 m% r M 2 Q QM O M J vd m z n m A .lwu .6 A H A H 1 B m m e b m w m M m o o u m u m Z u m ,4 Z M J g 1 v U/oh H h w W 1 C M 1 1 mm July 19, 1955 A. R. STAHL ADJUSTABLE FORMING AND CUTTING DIE STRUCTURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Jgn. 5, 1952 Inventor Alfred R. Stahl Hi8 At'borneq.

July 19, 1955 A. R. STAHL 2,713,362

ADJUSTABLE FORMING AND CUTTING DIE STRUCTURE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed Jan. 5, 1952 Invent OT Alfred R. Stahl,

His AUb orneg United States Patent O ADJUSTABLE FORMING AND CUTTING DIE STRUCTURE Alfred R. Stahl, Garnet Lake, N. Y., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Original application January 5, 1952, Serial No. 265,156. Divided and this application October 22, 1952, Serial No. 316,283

2 Claims. (Cl. 14il71) My invention relates to an adjustable forming and cutting die structure whichis useful, for example, in an automatic lead forming and trimming machine for processing electronic components such as that disclosed in my application Serial No. 265,156, filed January 5, 1952, and entitled Forming and Cutting Machine for Radio Components, of which the present application is a division.

In the highly competitive field concened with the manufacture of a multitude of small parts such as capacitors and resistors of variant size, it is desirable to have a machine capable of performing one or more steps of component manufacture on a multitude of components of one particular size, with the machine quickly adjustable to render it capable of performing the same or similar operations on a difierent multitude of components of a different size. In machines of the general type hereafter described it has heretofore been found difiicult, if not impossible, to combine desirable features of automatic turret feed, indexing control and adjustable dies to accommodate partially finished electronic equipment components of variant size.

My aforesaid parent application, Serial No. 265,156, describes and claims an improved machine which automatically forms and cuts the lead connections of such small electronic components and which embodies the above desirable features.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved forming and cutting die structure, suitable for use in such a machine, which is readily adjustable to accommodate electronic components of various sizes and types.

Another object is to provide an improved die structure for forming and trimming the leads of small electrical components, such as resistors and capacitors, in a single operation and in which the forming and cutting elements are readily and independently adjustable.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent and my invention will be better understood from consideration of the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of a forming and cutting machine embodying a die structure constructed in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a cut-away and enlarged view showing the index and lock mechanism for the machine of Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken through the middle of the support and index wheel of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a schematic representation showing Wiring and piping for the machine of Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 6 is an enlarged cut-away portional elevation showing the component feeding portion of the machine; Fig. 7 is an exploded view showing the trip lever assembly used at the bottom of each of the magazines shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 6; Fig. 8 is an elevational view of the die assembly taken on line 88 of Fig. 6; Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a portionof the assembly shown in Fig. 8; and Fig. 10 is a pictorial representation of a completed one of the components which the machine of the invention is designed to process.

lCC

Referring now to Fig. 1, 10 represents a box-like base on which there is secured an upper box-like structure 11 which contains parts of an index and lock mechanism hereinafter more fully described. Secured to the top of structure 11 as by a plurality of bolts 12 is a bronze bushing 13 which acts as a journal bearing for a shank portion 14s of a magazine support 14 rotatably mounted within and upon the bushing 13. Support 14 in turn supports a magazine base plate 15 which is the base of a magazine turret assembly hereinafter to be described. I have shown means provided for centering base plate 15 upon support 14, and in the illustrated embodiment such means takes the form of a top cap 16 bolted to base plate 15 and having a shank portion passing through a center hole in support 14.

Since a principal function of the machine described is to process variant sized resistors, capacitors or other components, I provide means for quickly removing any one turret magazine assembly to replace it by another designed for different sized components. To this end magazine base plate 15 is merely laid upon support 14. A pin 17 is secured to support 14 and designed to mate with a bushing 18 secured to turret base 15 so that the turret magazine Will be driven from support 14.

Each magazine turret assembly (of which only one is shown) comprises six circumferentially spaced slide brackets 20 secured to the respective magazine base plate 15 as by screws 21. Six more slide brackets 20 are fastened to an upper magazine ring support 22 as by screws 23, and, as seen from Figs. 1 and 2, upper and lower brackets are circumferentially aligned in pairs with each pair holding a pair of front and back slides, 24 and 25 respectively, with each pair of slides forming a rack or magazine provided for holding a stack of components 26 which are to have their leads formed and trimmed. As shown in Fig. 2, the front slides are flat whereas the back slides have turned-in ends for holding the components against axial movement. It is to be understood that usually components, such as resistors or capacitors, are initially placed in stacks between front and back plates 24 and 25 in all of the various magazines although components 26 are shown in only two magazines in Fig. 2.

For ejecting components 26 from the magazines, each magazine inner slide 25 is provided with an aperture 27 (Fig. 1) through which, whenever an individual magazine is rotatably aligned at a single discharge position as hereinafter explained, a plunger 28 is adapted to extend to discharge the lowermost component. Plunger 28 is operated by a piston responsive to fluid pressure in a knockout cylinder 29 as more fully explained in connection with other figures of the drawing.

A bifurcated support member 30 is fastened to the box-like structure 11 at one end thereof and holds an air press cylinder 31. Cylinder 31 is fed with fluid pressure as by a conduit 32 to move a piston rod 33 connected to a press block 34. Block 34 operates in conjunction with the cutoff and forming die assembly indicated generally at 35 in Fig. 1 and more fully described in connection with the descriptions of Figs. 6-8. The dies serve to trim and form the leads at the end of each individual component 26 as it is ejected from the respectively aligned magazine into the die assembly and subsequently discharged through an aperture 36 (Fig. 1) into the box 11 or into a hopper therebelow (not shown) from which the completed components may be removed from time to time.

Box 11 also serves to hold the major portion of the index and lock mechanism assembly which, as shown in Fig. 3, comprises the magazine support wheel 14 which is formed integral with or secured to an indexing wheel having a peripheral portion 37 provided with locking notches 38. The indexing wheel also has ratchet teeth 39. The locking notches 38 are engageable by a lock pin 40 which is slidable in stationary bearing blocks 41 and 42. Pin 40 is biased inward toward any one of the notches 38 by a compression spring 43, and is withdrawn from the notches by rotation of a trip lever 44 such that the trip lever urges the locking pin outward against the compressive force of spring 43. Trip lever 44 operates around a fulcrum provided by a stationary pin 45 and operates responsive to movement imparted by either the spring 43 (causing trip lever 44 to rotate in one direction), or a trip pin 46 (causing trip lever 44 to rotate in the opposite direction).

The assembly is operated by the introduction of fluid pressure to an indexing air cylinder 47 secured to a stationary bracket 48 (which may be assumed afiixed to the box-like structure 11 of Fig. 1). The piston in cylinder 47 may be spring biased to the right and fluid pressure introduced through a conduit 47c (Fig. 3) to cause it to move to the left pulling piston rod 49 and an attached indexing slide 50 also to the left. Slide 50 may be supported for slidable engagement through an end wall or base member 11b of the structure 11 of Fig. 1.

As indicated in Fig. 3, the trip lever 46 is slidably mounted through an opening in indexing slide 50 and is urged in one direction by a compression spring 51 and there is a flat face of lever 46 presented to trip lever 44 for one direction of travel, and an inclined face of lever 46 presented to trip lever 44 for the opposite direction of travel so that when slide 50 moves to the left, levers 46 and 44 will act to withdraw pin 40 from the associated locking notch 38, and when 1 slide 50 moves to the right (for reset) lever 46 will merely withdraw (against the force of spring 51) and not attempt to operate locking pin 40 for this direction of travel of the indexing slide.

Indexing slide 50 carries an indexing ratchet arm 52 which terminates in a roller 53 designed to mate with any one of the ratchet teeth 39. To achieve this mating, arm 52 is pivotably mounted on the slide 50 by a screw 54, with the arm biased for one direction of rotation by a tension spring 55.

In operation, when fluid pressure is introduced .through conduit 47c to cylinder 47, the direction of movement of indexing slide 50 will be leftward in the direction of arrow 56. This will rotate trip lever 44 to withdraw locking pin 40 from the corresponding notch 38 and simultaneously cause roller 53 to move a mating ratchet tooth 39 until the end of the stroke. Then when the fluid pressure is released, the spring in cylinder 47 will cause movement of slide 50 in the opposite direction to reset the ratchet mechanism at the next ratchet tooth at which point the index wheel is held by reengagement of locking pin 40 with a new notch 38.

It is assumed that each of the six positions at which locking pin 40 is engaged with a notch 38 and at which the ratchet arm roller 53 is engaged in a groove at one side of a ratchet tooth 39, corresponds to one of the six positions at which one of the magazines is aligned with the air press and with the die assembly, and at which a back slide aperture 27 is aligned with plunger 28.

Referring now to Fig. 5 which is a wiring and piping schematic diagram of the apparatus shown in the other figures of the drawing, the air press cylinder 31 is fed by conduit 32 through a T-fitting 62 from an operators control valve 63, which in turn is fed through a'T-fitting 64 from a fluid pressure supply conduit 65. For illustration it may be assumed that the fluid under pressure is compressed air. der 47, the knock-out cylinder 29 and the press cylinder 31 are all fed from the same air supply, but it will be observed that the operators control valve controls only knock-out cylinder 29 and press cylinder 31 (connected to the T 62), but does not control the in- The indexing air cylina dexing air cylinder 47 which has its feed conduit 47c connected to a solenoid operated air valve 66 which, in turn, is supplied from the T 64. Solenoid control valve 66 is energized from a photocell control unit 67 responsive to illumination of a photocell 68 from a light beam 69 coming from a light source 70. Light source 70 comprises a bulb which is energized through a transformer 71 from power supply lines 72 which also provide power for the photocell control unit 67.

Referring back to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be observed that light beam 69 will be interrupted whenever the aligned magazine contains any components (because one of them will drop to the bottom of the magazine), but as soon as the particular magazine is empty the beam will energize the photocell to turn the turret assembly through operation of the index and locking mechanism and, if there is one, bring a loaded magazine into alignment with the press, the dies and the knockout cylinder.

In Fig. 6 I have shown an enlarged side view of the knockout mechanism and of a portion of the air press and of the cut-off and forming punches and dies hereafter more fully described in connection with Figs. 8 and 9.

In Fig. 7 I have shown an exploded view of the parts making up the trip lever assembly used at the bottom of each magazine as seen in Figs. 1, 2 and 6. As will be most clearly seen from Figs. 6 and 7, the bottom of each magazine chamber just below the aperture 27 is provided with a stationary bottom plate 73 secured to the inner slide 25 by a plurality of screws 74 which also pass through a bottom spring member 75. Secured to the bottom plate 73 by a pin 76 is a trip lever or dog 77 provided with upstanding lugs 78 and which is biased upward by spring but rotatable against the pressure thereof around the pin 76 to allow any individual component 26 to be ejected from the magazine whenever it is urged outward by the plunger 28 causing the component to depress the retaining lugs 78 against the pressure of spring 75. Each front (i. e., outer) slide 24 clears the associated base 73 by an amount sufficient to allow an individual component to slide or roll therebetween and into the punch and die assembly which may be understood from reference to Fig. 8 which is an elevational view along the line 8-8 of Fig. 6.

In Fig. 8 the block 34 is shown holding what may be referred to as a left hand cut-off punch holder 101 slidable to left and right in block 34 and slidable up and down on relatively stationary dowels 102 engaging slide holes in the punch holder and with a compression spring 104 biasing the holder upwards unless an overcoming force is exerted by the air press operating block 34. Punch holder 101 has secured therein, by a screw 105, a left hand cut-off punch 106 designed to cooperate with a left hand cut-off die 107 which is stationary with respect to a left hand cut-off slide 108 in which the dowels 102 are fixed. Slide 108 is slidably mounted for left and right movement along a left hand slide base 109 so that the cut-off point may be changed as is necessary, from time to time, since in the process of making electronic components, such as resistors, different lead lengths are required to accommodate varying assembly conditions in the equipment in which the components are to be installed.

Block 34 also holds a right hand cut-off punch holder 201 sliding on dowels 202, biased upward by a spring 204, and having secured therein a punch 206 which cooperates with a right hand cut-off die 207 held in a right hand cut-off slide 208 as by a plurality of screws 210. Slide 208 is adjustably held on right hand slide base 209 and the construction may be more clearly understood from reference to Fig. 9 which is a perspective view showing a portion of the left hand die assembly and all of the right hand punch and die assembly. From Fig. 9 it is seen that holes such as 203 are provided for accommodating the dowels 202 in sliding engagement with the screws (such as 213). Similarly the slide bases 109, 209

are provided with grooves 114,214 each engageable by a removable clamping rod 99 serving to adjustably secure them to a portion of structure 11 adjacent the opening 36.

For the purpose of enabling these sliding adjustments, the punch holders 101 and 201 are slideable along block 34 and this is also true of left and right hand forming punch holders, 121 and 221, respectively, each of which slides up and down on dowels 122, 222, and is biased upward against block 34 by a compression spring 124, 224, and holds a forming punch 126, 226 arranged to cooperate with a forming die 127, 227, the forming dies being solidly secured one on each of the respective left and right hand slide bases 109 and 209.

Since the slide bases 109, 209 are slidable on structure 11 and carry the dowels 122, 222 supporting the forming punch holders 121, 221, while the cut-off slides 108, 208

are separately slidable on the slide bases 109, 209 and separately carry the other dowels 102, 202 holding the cut-off punch holders 101, 201, it will be apparent that left hand forming length, right hand forming length, left hand cut off length, and right hand cut-off length are all independently adjustable, to accommodate varying assembly conditions in equipment in which the components are to be used and requiring variant multiplicities of form lengths and lead lengths. Q}

It will be observed from the drawings that when any component is ejected from a magazine into; the die assembly it is supported in the latter entirely by its uncut and unformed leads. The forming dies and slide bases are provided with open spaces (128 and 228 in Fig. 9) which, as soon as the leads are cut and for ined, permit the component to drop down and out of the die assembly and through the aperture 36 in the base structure 11.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a finished; component 26 in which the right hand formed length is; designated as f corresponding to a distance f between the end of the component and the side of the forming die 227 adjacent forming punch 226 in Fig. 8, and c i(in Fig. 9) is a right hand cut-off length corresponding, 0 the distance between forming and cut-off points as indicated at c in Fig. 8. It is apparent that these lengths and the corresponding left hand lengths are independently adjustable so that the machine meets the requirement of being capable of being adjusted according to assembly requirements by having the cutting and forming operations done in separate self-contained units arranged on bases which permit movement of each unit independently of the others.

In operation the components are stored vertically and slide down a rack and are pushed out of the bottom of the rack into the die assembly, the capacity of the machine being increased because of the provision of a turret assembly comprising a plurality of racks or magazines. Whenever the last part is pushed out of one magazine, the light beam passes through the open space and by means of the photocell energizes the ratchet drive mechanism to turn the next loaded magazine into the operating position, so that the feeding of the components into the die assembly is done by a magazine turret, to allow long uninterrupted operation, with the turret automatically indexed in such a way that at all times a full magazine (if there is any) will be located over the dies.

Whenever a full, or partially full, stack of components is indexed adjacent the dies, the operators control valve can be operated to cause plunger 28 to push one component out of the rack. at the same time that the large piston in cylinder 31 operates the forming and cutting dies on a previously discharged component. As soon as the supply of components in one stack is exhausted, the photocell control indexes the turret to bring the next full or partially full magazine into position. Becausei the indexing isv automatic; it is only necessary for the operator to feel that he is manually operating the die part of the machine because the mechanism will then automatically feed all of the parts in the magazine turret without stopping. Of course, if desired, the die opera-ting controlicould also be operated automatically at any desired time cycle rather than by hand. Utilization of the photocell control means that the number of components placed in each magazine rack need not be counted because the machine will automatically turn to a new magazine each time that an individual magazine has discharged all of its load.

As already explained, magazine turrets. may be exchanged to accommodate different size components to be handled and the die assembly has sliding self-contained cutting andfforming die units which can be adjusted to cut off and. form desired portions of component leads, since, within limits, the various forming and cutting dies are individually adjustable by virtue of their slidable mounting on different base blocks. j

While I have illustrated and described a particular embodiment of my invention, modifications will occur to those skilled in the art. I desire it to be understood, therefore, that my invention is not to be limited to the particular arrangement disclosed and I intend in the appended claii'ns to cover all modifications which do not depart fromthe true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a turret fed machine for processing electronic equipment components each having right and left hand leads which are to be trimmed and formed, the combination of a base structure, a pair of left and right slide bases aligned for axial movement to and away from each other on said base structure, clamping means for adjustably securing said slide bases on said base structure, a pair of left and right hand forming dies carried one on each of the respective slide bases, each of said slide bases having a set of upstanding dowels secured therein, a pair of left and right hand forming punch holders arranged to slide on the respective dowel sets and each having spring means for biasing them upward away from the respective slide bases, each of said forming punch holders having a punch designed to mate with the respective forming die, a pair of left and right hand cut-off slides slidably mounted one on each of the respective slide bases for movement toward and away from the respective forming dies, each of said cut-off slides having a cut-off die member and a set of upstanding dowels stationary with respect thereto, a pair of left and right hand cut-off punch holders journalled on the respective last-mentioned dowel sets and provided with spring means biasing said holders upward away from said cut-off slides and each provided with a cut-off punch mating with the respective cut-off die, and means for moving all of said punches simultaneously into cooperation with the respective dies.

2. In a machine for processing electronic equipment,

components each having right and left hand leads which are to be trimmed and formed, the combination of a base structure having a pair of parallel guide surfaces, a pair of left and right slide bases mounted between said surfaces and aligned for axial movement to and away from each other on said base structure, clamping means for adjustably securing said slide bases on said base structure, a pair of left and right hand forming dies carried one on each of the respective slide bases, each of said slide bases having transverse guide members secured therein, a pair of left and right hand forming punch holders arranged to slide transversely on the respective guide members and each having spring means for biasing left and right hand cut-01f punch holders arranged to slide" transversely on the respective guide elements and provided with spring means biasing said holders'upward away from said cut-ofi slides, each of said punch holders having a cut-off punch mating with the respective cut-01f die, and common actuating means for moving all of said punches into cooperation with the respective dies.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS .4 1,470

Babbett Feb. 9, 1864 1,264,901 Craig May 7, 1918 FOREIGN PATENTS 223,815 Great Britain Oct. 30, 1924 

